2017

Following up on their successful London conference on September 15, 2012 at UEA London, this is the first book devoted to the Anthology of American Folk Music which is such a vital piece of the large and complex story of American music and its enduring value in American life. Reflecting the intrinsic interdisciplinarity of Smith’s original project, this collection contains a variety of new perspectives on all aspects of the Anthology. Essays by Ross Hair, Rory Crutchfield, Robin Purves, Geoff Ward and more

Play is, by definition, disinterested activity. It crucially lacks utility. It takes place in a time out of time. Play is, nevertheless, governed by powerfully purposive impulses: we act within the rules of engagement and learn what it is to live with ourselves and with others. Play is essential to human being. We learn to play; we play to learn. Redstone’s Play Diary is itself playful. It plays with the idea of play every day of the year. Expect the unexpected. Artists and writers at play include: Bruno Munari, Paul Klee, David Shrigley, Glen Baxter, Maurizio Cattelan, Olga Rozanova, Harry Smith, Lydia Davis, e e cummings, Charles Baudelaire, and Saul Steinberg.

In the 1940s and 1950s San Francisco’s Fillmore District in its heyday. An eclectic, integrated, and hopping neighborhood dotted with restaurants, pool halls, theaters, and shops many minority-owned, it boasted two dozen active nightclubs and music joints within its one square mile. Few people today know of the rich history of the Fillmore and its musical legacy because it vanished abruptly and so thoroughly due to redevelopment in the 1960s. Through dozens of archival photographs and oral accounts from the neighborhood residents and musicians who experienced it at its height, Harlem of the West celebrates this unique and rediscovered chapter in jazz history and the African-American experience on the West Coast.

Raymond Foye and Howl! Happening are pleased to present an evening celebrating the legendary filmmaker, painter, and folklorist Harry Smith. The event includes the New York premiere of Harry Smith Breslin Hotel NYC, a short film by Robert Frank; a panel discussion; and a screening of Smith’s animated films with live music by High Water, songwriter and saxophonist Will Epstein’s changing collective of electronic swing and improvised incantation.

Always on the verge of homelessness, for eight years Smith occupied a tiny room in the Breslin, a welfare hotel on Broadway and West 29th Street. Forced to move when the residence was sold and converted to a luxury hotel, Robert Frank documented Smith packing his belongings and leaving his home for a Bowery shelter, where he occupied a tiny steel wire mesh cubicle for several years before being rediscovered and rescued by Allen Ginsberg.

The short will be shown twice, before and after a panel discussion featuring Raymond Foye and Charles Compo, two friends who spent a great deal of time with Harry in his room at the Breslin Hotel. Although it was one of the most reclusive periods in Smith’s life, it was also most productive. He saw very few people, but edited his epic multi-screen magnum opus film No. 18: Mahagonny. He also compiled several recording projects (on the Kiowa, and on shape-note singing) and returned to painting.

This program is produced in conjunction with Brett De Palma’s exhibition Dreaming on the Bowery: Post-Apocalyptic Paintings, on view from November 18 through December 20, 2017. See more about the exhibition here